It seems strange that the biblical story of Adam and Eve blames Eve for Adam’s fall from grace. I say that because, if I were God, I’d get rid of Adam and keep Eve. She had the courage, foresight, wisdom, and tenacity to pursue what most societies encourage all of their constituents to pursue: knowledge. Adam was just too stupid to question God’s commandment, which would relegate him to little more than a species above non-thinking animals; one with little to no knowledge, and the lack of a will to even gain knowledge. It’s this ridiculous story that somehow has infected the western world (and certain orthodox Mideastern religious sects) with a belief that women have value only in so far as how well they reproduce and at the same time please their mate. A man commits adultery and it’s just boys will be boys. A woman commits adultery, and she’s a slut.
It’s also interesting to note that in the BC era, up through the 19th century, women were often society’s healers. They were the ones who used herbs and plants in the treatment of various ailments. The irony here lies especially during the Plague years of Western Europe. Quite often it was the women healers (whom the Catholic Church branded as instruments of Satan) and midwives whom were the first the villagers turned upon and in many cases, even those who had used their services (usually secretly), branded as devil worshipers and witches. Many of these women were put to death. Again, irony... the very women who might be able to help the sick were now dead or banished, leaving no one with advanced medical experience to deal with a growing population of sick and dying people.
Referring back to the above story of Adam and Eve, one has to note how similar the Old Testament is to Greek mythology (and many others as well). Just as Zeus bound Prometheus to a rock for eternity for giving man fire (light), the Old Testament god punished Adam and Eve for pursuing knowledge. Why? Because in both myths, when humans gained more and more power (light, knowledge, wisdom) they became threats to the god(s) that made them. This whole concept seems to spill over into organized religion and government politics (not much difference between the two). The less knowledge each’s constituents have, the more easily they can be controlled and manipulated.
Women, I think, have always been the biggest potential problem for organized political bodies and have therefore been branded with the idea that they are emotionally and physically weak, horrible problem solvers in the political arena, and intellectually inferior to men. Even in the developed world… what % of Fortune 500 companies are headed by women? How many women bishops, cardinals, or popes? What % of women are leaders of their country? The answer to all of these questions is that women are almost insignificant in number and, in most cases, women are treated as an insignificant but necessary part of society (child bearing, husband pleasing, and family unity).
We would like to hear your thoughts on the topic. Why is it that women are, in many countries, second class citizens? Who is to blame?
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So much of women's time has been devoted to child-rearing in the past that they didn't have much time for anything else. Even in ancient times, acceptance of birth control measures (however icky or even gruesome) seems to me -- though this is just an impression -- to be linked to more freedom for women.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, with the advent of modern birth control, women do have a lot more freedom, at least in western society. However, employers are still hesitant to hire women for top positions because they fear they'll leave to have babies. And it's very hard for some women to come back to work after taking time off to raise children.
Now, I have nothing against having babies (well, other women having babies -- I'm sure as heck not ready, if I'll ever be). However, I do think that it's been an obstacle to true equality in the workplace and, as a result, in society in general.
Assuming we all agree that we shouldn't just stop having kids altogether, I think we need to make it easier for moms to work so that they aren't automatically dependent on men when they have kids. I think we need better maternity/paternity leave policies, better health care, better but cheaper daycare, shorter workweeks, more flexible hours, telecommuting options, etc. We might not get all of this everywhere, but we need to push for better.
Another big piece, though, is getting dads to help out. Women shouldn't have to be super mom. This whole "You can do anything so long as you do everything" attitude is crap. And it's not just that a lot of guys don't want to help out, it's that society says that cleaning, cooking, and raising kids is unmanly. That's also crap. When guys can choose to be stay at home parents and not be called bums or wusses or worse things, that's when women will be a major step closer to equality. And hopefully, it'll stop being such an easy decision as to which parent (if any) stays home because there will be more women making as much, if not more, than their partners.